Sunday, April 26, 2009

Today: My dear friend and ex lover Jim passed away Thursday night at around 9:30 PM. I was there with him and his family. He had called me the night before to tell me he had congenial heart failure and internal bleeding. The doctor's said he would pass in a matter of 1-2 days. So I drove down to say goodbye. Jim will be a significant part of "My Life" in future chapters.

My Life: So I am back to having one job and having a hard time finding anything else. The paycheck is too small and I need work. I would check the paper everyday for anything. It's tough to get a job in Florida if you don't speak spanish. Then the ad caught my eye. ELETROLUX. I know it sounds horrible but I thought it would be a piece of cake. My mother used to sell Electrolux vaccuum cleaners at one time and she always said they were the best.

I went to the company and applied for the job. They hired me immediately and said they would give me classes on the cleaners. The classes consisted of tearing the machines apart, cleaning them and putting them back together, and all the awesome features. The biggest don't with a cleaner is "Never suck up and water". It voids the warrenty. I was told the job was commission only and thought I could sell the crap out of them. Once I learned how much they cost, I wasn't so sure. During class I met Joan & Butch ( a mother and son team). They would become friends of mine during this stage in my life.

Joan was the most overweight woman I had ever befriended. Her son was a very tall, big redneck. They like to drink, cuss and do drugs. I fit in perfectly even though I was never much on cussing.

So here I am trying to sell these vaccuums and not doing so well. I think I sold one the first week and another within the first month. The commission was about 100.00 per cleaner so I wasn't making very much money. We had a new boss take over our store and he was a convicted felon who had just gotten oout of jail. Kind of a scary guy yet attractive. Whenever he was around me he would always talk about how pretty his wife was. I found that strange. Then one day he shows me her picture and asks me if I would like to fuck her. I know my mouth hit the floor and since no one knew at Electrolux that I was gay, I said she was very attractive and that I would have sex with her if she weren't married to the boss. I'm not sure what happened next so I'll tell it the best I can.

The boss man told me his wife was out of town and that he wasn't getting any. He kept telling me how horny he was and that while he was in jail he had plenty of BJ's from men. It didn't bother him at all. He said men did a better job than women anyway. I knew what he was going for. He told me that if I took care of him, he would give me the best territories for sales. So I did him right there in his office.

Even though I was sent out to the better area, I didn't make many more sales. I would average 2 a month. The second month I met the boss's wife and she really was pretty. She asked me if I was interested in a 3-way with her and her husband. I said yes even though I wasn't. After meeting her, the following week he asked me to meet him at an address during the day. I found it and it was a hotel where he wanted me to "Take Care" of him again. I did and he gave me a job making phone calls to set up appointments for the other sales reps. He said he would pay me something like 5.00 per appointment. Since I knew I had mad skills on the phone, I thought this would work out perfect.

I lasted another week calling people from the phone book. Cold calls are not what I thought I had signed up. I thought I would be given leads. Plus the phone I used was right next to you know whos office and he wanted more than just appointments made. I couldn't deal with it and finally quit the job. Sexual harrassment laws were harder to prove back then and male on male harassment was very embarrassing. Today I wouldn't hesitate to file a claim.

Although I still have a job with Time Life, it's not enough. I helped Linda have a sale of her stuff and she paid me some. I did odd jobs here and there. And at night, I would drink myself into oblivion. Occasionaly doing drugs with either Linda, Hector, Joan, Butch or Ken. The one constant was my dog Stryker. Always there for me.

One day Glenn, Ken's 9 yo son had come to house and I caught him choking Stryker in the back yard. If I hadn't walked in on him, he would have killed my baby. I imediately went to Ken and told him what I saw and Ken ssid I was lying and that Glen would never do such a thing. This is the same kid that would smash his own head against walls and windows if he didn't get his way. He also beat up the other kids in the neighborhood.

I remeber getting really wasted that night and listening to country music. I called my friend Jim in Arlington, VA for advise. I had been friends with him since I was 21 and he was always there for me. He said that he was on his way down to Orlando Florida for a vacation and asked me if I wanted to join him. With no hesitation, I said YES! He would send me the plane ticket to meet him at the motel in florida. Now all I had to do was tell Ken...

Sunday, April 19, 2009

My Life: This was the time in my life That I went through a lot of jobs. The pay was really poor at Time Life and I worked the afternoon shift. Since I had the mornings free I took another job as a phone solicitor selling credit card protection. It was part time and in the mornings. Talk about a scam! I hated this job a lot. Smoke filled room with 30 or so phones and stacks of cards. Pay was commission only. It was a hard sell and I sold a enough of the product to warrant my first paycheck of about $200.00.

I also had met a young woman there who thought I was a CJ special. I asked her what that meant and she told me "Cream your Jeans Special". I think she was in her early 20's and I wasn't at all interested. I don't even remember her name.

When I went to work that first payday, the doors to the building were locked and there was a note on the door telling everyone that they were closed until further notice. I wanted my money!!!! There must have been 20 or so of us outside the building trying to figure out what to do. Some phone numbers were exchanged, including mine to the CJ girl.

When I got home the CJ girl called me to ask what I was going to do. I told her I would call the owner of the company and get back to her. I researched all the business information I could and came up with the number. I called the owner and he said that he didn't have the funds to pay anyone right away but was going to get them and pay us all off. I was stunned that someone would not pay their employees and knew he was lying. When I finished the call to him I immediately got back on the phone and called the local television station.

That evening on the 6 o'clock news I saw the story. It seems the TV station went out the beginning of the next shift and filmed employees not getting into the building. They reported that they were still trying to contact the owner. While watching this I got a phone call. It was the CJ girl. She started asking me strange questions, like what would I like to do with her in bed and the such. I told her I was seeing someone else and she told me that she had driven by my home and saw me alone through the front windows watching TV. How did she get my address? She had followed me from the job earlier that day. I had heard of stalkers before but never thought it would happen to me. Just the feeling of someone watching you without you being aware is creepy. I told her so too.

I had mornings and nights available to do what I could to get the money owed me. To me it was a lot since I was so poor back then. I called the BBB, the law and anyone who would listen. Within a week I got a call from the owner of the scam company and he said he had cut me a check and that I should lay off him. All my hard work had paid off and I received the money in a matter of days. I cashed it and it didn't bounce. Whew!

In the meantime CJ girl kept calling me. She wouldn't take no for an answer. I lived inside my home with curtains drawn closed at all times. I told her I got paid and that she should put her energy into calling the owner and leave me alone. She finally quit calling. Thank God!

During this whole ordeal, Ken didn't raise a finger to help. He was too busy with his own personal stuff. He was more of a visitor to me than a lover. On occasion he would come to the house and we would talk or even have sex. One time he invited this really hot guy over and while having a 3 way, he filmed it. He didn't ask my permission, he just started filming. I was young and didn't protest and after all, the other guy was HOT! I don't know what happened to that film. ARGH!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Scott was in the hospital for 3 days. He came home from his first rehearsal with a fever. It slowly reached 13.8 so I took him to Prince William Hospital. It seems he had a massive sinusitis attack. The doctors pumped him full of fluids and antibiotics. He's home now and safe.

Scott's parents and aunt left Thursday afternoon. It was hard to have 3 extra people in our home for 8 days but we managed. I am baffled at how the 3 of them used up a 6 month supply of toilet paper during their stay? Nice people, though set in their ways and very verbal about what they stand for.

Today is Easter and we are going to a friends house for the hunt of the elusive colored eggs! I'm going to make monkey bread for everyone.

My Life: Ah, Time Life Libraries. I was pretty good at this job too. I quickly became of the phone reps that were on top consistently. I was very outgoing at the time so it was easy for me. While there I met Linda F. She was a divorced mother of one. Her daughter was as cute as a button. Linda didn't have many friends as she was new to the area. We started to see each other on the side. She was a pretty woman with very large breasts and we would hang out at my place without Ken and get drunk. We would also have safe sex. At least I was getting it from somewhere. I was still gay but I really liked Linda.

I also met Hector at Time Life. He and his brother came to work there at the same time. His brother looked like one of those guys on the cover of a romance novel. Hector was a little older and more rugged looking. He was the father of one and one on the way. He really turned me on.

Hector's brother was getting all the attention at work so I asked Hector if he wanted to come by my place for a drink. He was a friendly outgoing kinda guy and came over that night. Once there, he asked me if I was seeing Linda and if we like 3 ways. I told him I was and that I never asked Linda (even though she knew I was gay).Without much hesitation, I made a move towards him. He was very open to the idea and we had sex. We became fuck buddies.

Now I have Ken who is supposed to be my lover. I'm dating Linda & Hector. I also go to the gay bar about 30-40 minutes from where I live to meet other men. I drink every night and do whatever drugs I can find.

In between all this madness I still have yard sales every weekend. I had accumulated so much stuff and I needed to get rid of it.

Also happening during this time was Ken's sister had filed a law suit against his mother. It seemed she thought she was unfit to handle her estate and wanted more land. I had to go do a deposition and tell them what I thought. Basically I told the court that the sister was a money hungry bitch who was trying to steal from her own mother. Ken and his sister became bitter enemies and he spent most every day and night with his mother.

I started to get more depressed. Linda was going to move to North Carolina and Hector was going to marry his pregnant girlfriend. I would lock myself in the house and drink, listening to country music. I felt so alone.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Now: Scott's parents and aunt are in town and staying with us at the moment. I've been really busy cooking and making sure they are comfortable. His dad is really a hoot! The ladies and I went to yard sales today and then I introduced them to Wegman's Grocery Store. Complete and utter awe. They live in Utah and have never seen anything like it before.

Tomorrow we are all going to see Scott in "Something Different" at Eldon Street Players Theater. He's got multiple roles in the show including the old woman. It's a kids show and should be very funny. He really is quite talented. Afterwards is his cast party.

Monday I have a doctor's appointment. Tuesday is working at the consignment shop. Everyday is eBay and cleaning and cooking. I need a break!

My Life: I was at the art gallery about 3 months before I was fired. Christmas time came and I was given one of the most beautiful presents in my entire life. I was at Ken's mother's house and we were all opening our gifts when out came a bubbly little black and white furry Shih Tzu. He came running straight to me and was the happiest littlest puppy ever. He was purchased at one of those horrible breeding homes andcompletely covered in fleas. I had just watched a movie a few days before about a man named Stryker, who had to overcome the odds. That's what I decided to name my new baby, Stryker.

Stryker became my best friend. We went to yard sales together. I once brought him to an outdoor art show and I wore a huge afro wig and proudly showed him off. He took a while to train and he taught me patience and unconditional love. When no one else was there for me, he was. He keep me company through many lonesome nights and days.

Since I had become unemployed, I didn't know what to do next. I looked for work and couldn't find anything. When spring came, Ken gave me $100.00 and told me start my own flea market business. I went to every yard sale I could find and bought everything i could. I opened a booth at the local flea market and learned the business in a matter of weeks. I even sold the pecans from the trees at Ken's mothers farm. It got to the point where I had to have two booths. One for nothing but books and the other for everything else.

I learned about depression glass, carnival glass, toys, pottery, figurines, furniture and much more. I had a passion for this type of thing since I was a child and my mother would take me around on big trash night in our neighborhood to get free things. Then we would sell them. This was my dream job even though it didn't pay very well at times. And, Stryker could come with me.

When winter came, the business slowed drastically! I had to find a consistant paycheck just to keep food in the house. Ken's business was hurting and he barely had any money either. His sister was even sueing his mother for propert rights. To me that was thewrongest thing EVER! To sue your own mother. What kind of family was I involved with here?

I finally landed a job at Time Life Libraries. I was going to call people and have them renew their magazine subscriptions. It was minimum wage with commissions. This job made me drink even more than I already did...

About Me

Started acting when I was very young. Recovering alcholic and drug abuser. WATCH Award winner for Best Featured Actor in a Play 2005. WATCH nominations for plays I have been in as Best Overall Play 2006, 2007.